Distribution of microplastics in domestic wastewater treatment plant: Exploring ferrofluid assisted magnetic separation for microplastics removal

IF 6.3 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

Journal of water process engineering Pub Date : 2025-06-23 DOI:10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108186

A. Angel Jessieleena , Rakshaanth Premkumar , Iniyan K E , Indumathi M. Nambi

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Abstract

Microplastics, particularly microfibers, are an emerging pollutant of environmental concern, with domestic wastewater, particularly laundry effluent, being the major source of microfiber contamination. Since conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are incapable of complete microfiber removal, it is essential to adopt advanced treatment technologies. Therefore, in this study, the applicability and efficiency of ferrofluid-assisted magnetic separation, an innovative, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and energy-efficient method for microfiber removal was investigated. In addition, the abundance and characteristics of microfibers present in a conventional domestic WWTP was explored and the average concentration in the raw and treated effluent of the WWTP was observed to be 139.8 ± 110 and 6.38 ± 6.63 MF/L. Further laboratory experiments exploring the efficiency of ferrofluid assisted microplastic removal revealed that palm oil as carrier liquid has yielded highest removal (>99 %) efficiency of microplastics in synthetic medium. Interestingly, microfibers showed a 100 % removal in synthetic samples, with its efficiency slightly dropping to 98.6 ± 1.2 and 92.5 ± 1.6 % in the case of actual laundry wastewater and secondary effluent of a WWTP, respectively. Overall, this study monitored the abundance of microfibers in a conventional WWTP and explored the feasibility of ferrofluids for the effective removal of microplastics and microfibers in synthetic and actual wastewater.

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微塑料在生活污水处理厂的分布：探索铁磁流体辅助磁分离去除微塑料

微塑料，特别是微纤维，是一种新兴的环境污染物，家庭废水，特别是洗衣废水，是微纤维污染的主要来源。由于传统的污水处理厂无法完全去除超细纤维，因此必须采用先进的处理技术。因此，在本研究中，研究了铁流体辅助磁分离的适用性和效率，这是一种创新的、环保的、经济高效的超细纤维去除方法。此外，研究了传统生活污水处理厂中存在的微纤维的丰度和特征，观察到该污水处理厂原水和处理出水的平均浓度分别为139.8±110和6.38±6.63 MF/L。进一步探索铁磁流体辅助微塑料去除效率的实验室实验表明，棕榈油作为载体液体在合成介质中对微塑料的去除效率最高（99%）。有趣的是，微纤维对合成样品的去除率为100%，对实际洗衣废水和污水处理厂二级出水的去除率分别略降至98.6±1.2和92.5±1.6%。总体而言，本研究监测了常规污水处理厂中微纤维的丰度，并探索了铁磁流体在合成废水和实际废水中有效去除微塑料和微纤维的可行性。

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来源期刊

Journal of water process engineering Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Biotechnology

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

8.60%

发文量

846

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Water Process Engineering aims to publish refereed, high-quality research papers with significant novelty and impact in all areas of the engineering of water and wastewater processing . Papers on advanced and novel treatment processes and technologies are particularly welcome. The Journal considers papers in areas such as nanotechnology and biotechnology applications in water, novel oxidation and separation processes, membrane processes (except those for desalination) , catalytic processes for the removal of water contaminants, sustainable processes, water reuse and recycling, water use and wastewater minimization, integrated/hybrid technology, process modeling of water treatment and novel treatment processes. Submissions on the subject of adsorbents, including standard measurements of adsorption kinetics and equilibrium will only be considered if there is a genuine case for novelty and contribution, for example highly novel, sustainable adsorbents and their use: papers on activated carbon-type materials derived from natural matter, or surfactant-modified clays and related minerals, would not fulfil this criterion. The Journal particularly welcomes contributions involving environmentally, economically and socially sustainable technology for water treatment, including those which are energy-efficient, with minimal or no chemical consumption, and capable of water recycling and reuse that minimizes the direct disposal of wastewater to the aquatic environment. Papers that describe novel ideas for solving issues related to water quality and availability are also welcome, as are those that show the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. The Journal will consider papers dealing with processes for various water matrices including drinking water (except desalination), domestic, urban and industrial wastewaters, in addition to their residues. It is expected that the journal will be of particular relevance to chemical and process engineers working in the field. The Journal welcomes Full Text papers, Short Communications, State-of-the-Art Reviews and Letters to Editors and Case Studies